Tennis star Peng Shuai’s denial of having written a social media sexual assault accusation is a reminder to women – Chinese or not: When it comes to sexual assault, you’re damned if you do speak up and damned if you don’t.
Women already know this as they try to rise through often unwelcoming pipelines at work. Reporting sexual misconduct is fraught with risk. Even if you win, even if the perpetrator is punished, your climb up the corporate, nonprofit, or academic ladder may well be stalled. Why? Because your quietly competent, hard-won rise is suddenly under scrutiny.
The courageous women who step forward and honestly name the person who assaulted them, often do so in the harsh glare of a spotlight. Is it worth it? For many women it is. They can’t simply say nothing, risk that the person who assaulted them will assault someone else. They deserve a groundswell of support.
In China, Peng Shuai is not free to speak freely to the media. So, an analogy to sexual assault in democratic countries is imperfect. Her experience, however, does remind us of just how difficult it is to step forward.
I wrote Damned if She Does to convey in fiction what is so prevalent in reality. Fiction can be a useful vehicle for otherwise unpalatable truths. In this case, that even women who are likely to be believed often fall silent for years or a lifetime about sexual assault. Many keep their onerous secret from even those closest to them.
Does this mean women shouldn’t come forward? That the risks are too great? No. It means that we need to be there for those who make that tough choice for however long it takes.
3 Responses to What Women Take from Peng Shuai’s Denial – We’re Damned If We Do and Damned If We Don’t